WEBVTT 00:00:00.460 --> 00:00:03.459 Pause. 00:00:03.459 --> 00:00:08.460 Get to know the Companions, the scholars, and the distinguished figures. 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:16.460 Here is a new challenge: who am I? 00:00:16.460 --> 00:00:23.980 I am the companion of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:00:23.980 --> 00:00:26.980 and the first muezzin of Islam. 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:28.980 I was born in Makkah 00:00:28.980 --> 00:00:33.079 and was an Abyssinian slave belonging to the tribe of Banu Jumah. 00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:36.079 When I heard of Islam, I accepted it, 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:39.079 whereupon my masters seized me and tortured me. 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:43.079 They cast me onto the sun-baked sand of Makkah, 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:47.079 placing heavy boulders upon my chest so that I might renounce my religion. 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:50.079 They used to hand me over to the children, 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:55.079 who would drag me through the mountain passes of Makkah while beating me, 00:00:55.079 --> 00:01:00.079 saying to me: "You will remain like this until you die, 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:05.079 or until you disbelieve in Muhammad and worship al-Lat and al-'Uzza." 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:10.079 Yet amidst that severe affliction and excruciating torment, I would say: 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:14.239 "He is One, He is One; He is One, He is One." 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:18.239 Then one day, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, passed by me; 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:22.239 he purchased me from them and set me free. 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:25.239 Thus 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say: 00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:29.239 "Abu Bakr is our master, and he set free our master." 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:32.140 I migrated to Madinah 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:36.140 and lived there by the side of the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:01:36.140 --> 00:01:38.200 and in his service. 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:40.200 When the call to prayer was instituted, 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:43.200 the Prophet, peace be upon him, chose me 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:46.200 to be his first muezzin. 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.200 So I called the adhan for him throughout his lifetime. 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:54.969 One day, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked me, 00:01:54.969 --> 00:01:59.969 saying: "Tell me of the most hopeful deed you have performed in Islam, 00:01:59.969 --> 00:02:04.969 for I heard the rustle of your footsteps before me in Paradise." 00:02:04.969 --> 00:02:07.969 I replied: "O Messenger of Allah, 00:02:07.969 --> 00:02:10.969 I have not performed any deed that is more hopeful to me 00:02:10.969 --> 00:02:15.969 than that whenever I purify myself at any hour of the night or day, 00:02:15.969 --> 00:02:21.969 I pray with that purification whatever prayer has been prescribed for me to perform." 00:02:21.969 --> 00:02:27.729 When the Prophet, peace be upon him, passed away, 00:02:27.729 --> 00:02:29.729 I stopped calling the adhan 00:02:29.729 --> 00:02:34.729 and set out for jihad and garrison duty for the cause of Allah in the Levant. 00:02:34.729 --> 00:02:39.789 Later, I came to Madinah during the caliphate of 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, 00:02:39.789 --> 00:02:46.789 and the Muslims requested that I raise the call to prayer in the Mosque of the Prophet, peace be upon him. 00:02:46.789 --> 00:02:51.789 The Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, urged me persistently to do so, 00:02:51.789 --> 00:02:53.789 so I granted their request. 00:02:53.789 --> 00:02:56.789 I ascended the roof of the Mosque to call the adhan, 00:02:56.789 --> 00:02:58.789 but no sooner had I begun with the takbir— 00:02:58.789 --> 00:03:00.789 "Allah is the Greatest, 00:03:00.789 --> 00:03:02.789 Allah is the Greatest"— 00:03:02.789 --> 00:03:06.789 than Madinah shook with weeping, 00:03:06.789 --> 00:03:12.889 as if the people remembered their days with the Prophet, peace be upon him. 00:03:12.889 --> 00:03:15.050 And when I reached: 00:03:15.050 --> 00:03:19.050 "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:21.050 weeping overcame me, 00:03:21.050 --> 00:03:25.050 and the voices of the people rose in sobbing. 00:03:25.050 --> 00:03:33.139 No day was ever seen in Madinah with more weeping after the death of the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:35.849 than that day. 00:03:35.849 --> 00:03:39.849 After that memorable and tearful night, 00:03:39.849 --> 00:03:42.849 I packed my riding mounts and returned to the Levant, 00:03:42.849 --> 00:03:44.849 remaining stationed there 00:03:44.849 --> 00:03:47.909 until my death came to me. 00:03:47.909 --> 00:03:49.909 As I was on my deathbed, 00:03:49.909 --> 00:03:51.909 my wife exclaimed: 00:03:51.909 --> 00:03:53.939 "O what a tragedy!" 00:03:53.939 --> 00:03:54.939 But I said: 00:03:54.939 --> 00:03:56.939 "Rather, what joy! 00:03:56.939 --> 00:03:58.939 Tomorrow we shall meet our beloved ones— 00:03:58.939 --> 00:04:01.939 Muhammad and his companions!" 00:04:01.939 --> 00:04:05.639 So, who am I? 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:09.639 Share your answers with us in the comments below the video, 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:13.900 and we will pin the correct answer in the comments section 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:15.900 upon the release of the next episode, 00:04:15.900 --> 00:04:17.899 Allah willing. 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:23.279 They were the best of generations in stance and example, 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:28.279 following the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke. 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:30.279 They were here, 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:33.279 quenching the clouds of our lives, 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:35.279 and so our stands— 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:38.279 their remembrance rises high. 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:44.279 They departed, leaving a question in our conscience: 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:49.279 Has a star like them ever risen and shone in the sky? 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:54.279 They filled life with proud glories by their deeds, 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:58.279 and the world of mankind flourished through them.